Fallin' In Love Again
by Ebony-Jayne
Summary: Sequel to Fallin' In Love. Olivia and Mollie take 14 month old Henry into their home and lives. Will it be smoother sailing than last time? You will need to have read the other one first.
1. Henry

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: SVU has just come back on in New Zealand and I suddenly felt compelled to write a sequel to Fallin' In Love. Olivia and Mollie welcome 14-month-old Henry into their home. Will this time around be smooth sailing or will it be fraught with problems like it was with Mollie?

You will need to have read Fallin' In Love to understand this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the storylines on the show. I do, however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter One: Henry

"You fostered and later adopted a little girl a few years ago right?" Sandra Lawrence asked Olivia Benson.

"Yes I did," Olivia grimaced a little at the memory of her first few weeks with her daughter Mollie. The tantrums…the biting…

"She had a lot of trouble settling in didn't she?" Sandra asked.

"That's gotta be the understatement of the year," Olivia told her.

"But you stuck with it and it turned out well," Sandra led Olivia into a small room where a social worker was playing with the little boy she was about to take home with her. "I think it's wonderful that you did. Congratulations Ms. Benson. I hope all goes well for you, Mollie and Henry."

"Thank you," Olivia smiled. She held her arms out to the little boy and he toddled over and let her pick him up. She had been coming in everyday for weeks to let Henry get to know her. Now she could finally take him with her. "Say bye bye to Sandra and Laura," she told the little boy. The two women waved at the little boy.

"Ba," the little boy raised his hand and waved back. Olivia smiled as she grabbed the small bag of his possessions and carried him away.

L&O: SVU

Olivia had decided that morning that she was going to surprise Mollie by picking her up early from school. They were playing T-ball in the playground when she arrived.

"Mommy!" Mollie spotted Olivia immediately and ran over. "Hi Henry," she said excitedly.

"Ba," Henry lurched forward in Olivia's arms, holding his little ones out to Mollie. She grinned as Olivia handed him over. Olivia couldn't help but smile. Henry was a bit too big for Mollie and she was struggling a bit to lift him.

"I talked to your teacher Mollie and she said she doesn't mind if I take you home early today, because it's a special day," Olivia told Mollie, ruffling her dark curly hair.

"Cool!" Mollie grinned. "Can we go to the Precinct so that Elliot and Allie and Fin and Munch and Uncle Don and Casey can meet Henry?" she asked.

"Of course," Olivia told her. "How about I hold onto Henry while you grab all of your stuff and then we'll go?" Olivia suggested.

"Ok," Mollie gave Henry back and ran off to get her things. Ten minutes later Olivia walked slowly behind Mollie and Henry smiling at the sight of them walking together, hand in hand.

L&O: SVU

"I'm going to carry Henry into the squad room, Ok Mom?" Mollie verified for about the hundredth time as they rode the elevator up to the right floor.

"Yes Mollie," Olivia answered patiently. As the elevator doors opened Olivia handed Henry over to Mollie and led them into the squad room.

"Hi guys!" Mollie announced their presence.

"Hiya Mollie," Allie Monroe answered. "Oh this must be Henry!" she grinned. "Hey cutie," she leaned over to his eye level.

"Oooh," Henry pointed to the gold crucifix pendant secured around Allie's neck. He grabbed it and rolled it between his fleshy little fingers before trying to stuff it in his mouth.

"No," Allie scolded gently. "Yuck," she wrinkled her nose which Henry promptly copied.

Soon the other Detectives all came over to say hello. They were closely followed by Cragen and Casey. There were hugs all around and Elliot lifted Mollie up into his arms despite Olivia's protesting that she was too old to be carried.

L&O: SVU

They stayed at the precinct for an hour or so before Henry started to get tired and Olivia decided they best be getting home so that he could have a sleep. Mollie ran around and hugged everybody goodbye as she usually did and then followed Olivia out to the car. Olivia wasn't really surprised when both kids fell asleep in the back of the car on the way home. They'd had a lot of excitement for one day. As she glanced at the two of them in the rearview mirror she couldn't help the huge grin that crept across her face.

"My kids," she said softly, trying it on. She'd never really thought that she would ever say that in her life. But now she could. "My kids," she repeated a little louder. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face all of the way home. In her mind she dared to hope that this time around would be easier.

L&O: SVU

Apologies for the slightly rocky start but I was a bit stuck for how to begin this. Hopefully my brain will play nice and the next chapter will start to form the story a bit more. Reviews make me very happy y'know (;-p) This chapter will quite possibly get reworked later on once I get into the story a bit more so…

Henry is loosely based on a little boy named Hunter that I look after quite regularly. He is the cutest little boy ever and I thought he was perfect to base the character on. Thanks for reading!

-Sarah


	2. Out of the Ordinary

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Olivia is in for a major shock when she gets a call from Mollie's school…

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the storylines on the show. I do, however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Two: Out of the Ordinary

Olivia was sitting at her desk going over some paperwork from their latest case when her phone rang.

"Benson," she snapped, annoyed that whoever it was had interrupted her work.

"Uh Ms. Benson this is Colleen Michaels," the voice on the other end replied. Olivia sat up straight at her desk. Why was Mollie's Principal ringing her in the middle of the day?

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

"Actually there are several problems. Are you able to come to the school at some point today?" the woman asked her.

"I guess I can. What's going on?" Olivia asked.

"I'd rather not tell you over the phone," she replied.

"Well does two o'clock suit you?" Olivia asked, mildly pissed off now.

"That would be great. I'll see you then," Colleen hung up without waiting for an answer.

"What was that about?" Elliot asked Olivia.

"That was Mollie's Principal. They want a meeting with me this afternoon at two," Olivia told him.

"What for?" he asked.

"She wouldn't tell me over the phone," Olivia shook her head a little. "I guess I should go clear it with the Captain," she sighed.

L&O: SVU

At two that afternoon Olivia was sitting in the Principal's office with Colleen Michaels and Eliza MacFarlane the latter being Mollie's teacher.

"We asked you to come in here Ms. Benson-,"

"Olivia," Olivia interrupted Colleen.

"-Olivia, because we are very worried about some behaviour that Mollie has been exhibiting lately," Colleen told her.

"What kind of behaviour?" Olivia asked.

"Well this morning alone she pushed one child into a wall and gave him a bleeding nose. When I asked her what the problem was she told me that she 'hated my guts'. Then when I took her hand to stop her from running off she bit me," Eliza held out her arm to show Olivia a large bruise with defined teeth marks in the middle. "There has been repeated pushing, shoving, kicking, hitting and bullying incidents involving other children on the playground. She kicked another teacher during one of these incidents too and screamed at him to 'F' off. That's the other thing; she cusses all of the time. And I'm not talking about mild curse words I'm talking major swear words," Eliza went on to list some of the more prominent ones in Mollie's vocabulary and Olivia was horrified. She had no idea that Mollie even knew most of those words. She was careful never to use them in front of her.

"There was an incident that particularly worried us yesterday. We aren't sure what she said but she really terrified another child. The little girl wouldn't tell us what she said because Mollie told her she would kill her if she did," Colleen told her.

L&O: SVU

Colleen gave Olivia a few moments to think over what they'd just told her before speaking again. "You recently took in another child. Am I correct?" she asked.

"Yes, I took in a little boy two months ago. What does that have to do with anything?" Olivia asked.

"Well it's a pretty big life change for a young girl. It's not uncommon for kids that age to get jealous that they don't have Mom to themselves anymore," Eliza suggested.

"I haven't noticed anything like that at home. It's got to be something else. She adores Henry, she thinks the world of him," Olivia argued.

"I'm sure she does. That may be why she's venting her frustration at school rather than at home," Eliza said gently.

"No. Look I'll talk to her and get this sorted out ok," Olivia told them.

"Great. Mollie is a lovely little girl Olivia and an absolute joy to teach. I guess there's just something going on in that head of hers," Eliza held out a hand to Olivia.

"I'm sorry she bit you. I know how much that hurts," Olivia said, shaking her hand. She shook hands with Colleen too. "I'll talk to her tonight," she told them before leaving the office.

L&O: SVU

Cragen had given Olivia the entire afternoon off because Munch and Fin were the only ones with a case. Olivia had time to kill before the bus arrived home from school so she decided to pick Henry up from daycare and head home. As she drove she couldn't believe what she had just been told. She hadn't noticed any major changes in Mollie's behaviour at home. She just couldn't believe that she had done the things that they said that she had. After she had picked Henry up she made up her mind that she was going to have a really good talk with Mollie that night. This behaviour would stop now.

L&O: SVU

Next chapter: Will Olivia's talk with Mollie go really well? Or horribly wrong…? I bet it isn't hard to guess. If anyone has any suggestions on how I could improve this story or ideas for future chapters then by all means let me know. I enjoy reading what people think should happen in my stories and it can be a lifesaver when the brain just doesn't want to co-operate and put out good ideas of it's own!

Sorry about the short chapters too.

Thanks for reading!


	3. The Talk

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: The talk…

Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know this has taken me FOREVER to update but between working, babysitting and getting ready to go to teachers college I haven't had a hell of a lot of time for my writing. Add to that the stress of my nana being diagnosed as being in the early stages of dementia and you have no update for over three months. So again Sorry, sorry, sorry! And I promise that I'm going to get this story finished in the next few weeks! I'm also sorry that this is a short one.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the storylines on the show. I do, however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Three: The Talk

Olivia had decided to get Henry settled into bed and asleep before she had a talk with Mollie. It was now 7.30 and Mollie was lying in bed listening to a book on tape of Cinderella. Olivia stood in the doorway.

"Mollie, do you think we could have a little talk?" Olivia asked, entering the room and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Ok Mom," Mollie reached over and switched off her little stereo. She sat back and looked at Olivia expectantly.

"Mollie, Principal Michaels and Mrs. MacFarlane and I had a little talk today," Mollie immediately severed eye contact. "They said that you pushed a boy into the wall and made his nose bleed this morning. How come you did that Mollie?" Olivia asked gently.

"He said you weren't my Mommy," Mollie said darkly.

"Oh Mollie, I am your mommy. You know that and I know that. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. If he says things like that to you just walk away. You shouldn't hurt other kids," Olivia reached out and smoothed Mollies soft curls.

"Ok," Mollie replied.

"Now what about the other times?" Olivia asked. "Mrs. MacFarlane said that you made another girl very, very scared yesterday. Why did you do that?" Olivia asked. Mollie's little face darkened.

"I don't want to talk anymore Mom," she said in a measured tone.

"Well I need a reason for why you are behaving like this Mollie," Olivia said firmly.

"I don't want to talk anymore," anger had begun to seep into Mollie's voice now. Olivia leaned closer to Mollie so she could look her in the eye.

"We need to talk about this Mollie, because it's not like you to do these things. So tell me why you're doing this," Olivia kept her voice as calm as possible. Mollie recoiled a little, then…

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ANYMORE!" she screamed. Henry started to cry in the next room. Olivia stood and walked over to the door.

"Go to sleep Mollie," she said evenly. She switched off the light and closed the door tightly leaving Mollie in the pitch dark.

L&O: SVU

Mollie sat in the dark listening to her mother comfort Henry. Tears ran down her cheeks leaving little salty trails behind them. Her mother didn't love her anymore. She loved Henry now because he was new and fun and she was old and boring. She switched her nightlight on and pulled her Pink Princess backpack out of her closet. It was her biggest one and her favourite. She opened her dresser drawers and put some clothes on. The she put her pajamas into the bag. She also put in some clean underpants and socks, her favourite jeans – the ones with the pretty pink fluffy stuff around the cuffs –, the Pink Princess top that matched the bag, a sweater and her school clothes and her precious Toby Rabbit. She took her hairbrush off the dresser and carefully brushed her hair before putting the brush in her bag too. She added some hair ties and clips. She picked up the picture of her and her aunt Casey that sat on her nightstand and decided to take that too. If she had a picture of Aunt Casey maybe someone could help her find her. She picked up the pen and notepad off her desk and wrote a note. Then she waited until she saw all the lights go off in the house, and then later her mother's room. She crept out to the bathroom and packed her toothbrush and her toothpaste. Back in her room she dropped the Princess bag and her school bag out the window and then climbed out after them. She put the princess bag on her back. It was heavy. She started off down the road. It was slow going because the two bags were heavy and awkward for her to carry.

L&O: SVU

Olivia lay in bed in the dark thinking. She had been far too harsh with Mollie. The poor kid had obviously been upset about something and so she should have just left it alone. But she just had to push her. When Mollie had yelled at her she hadn't known how to deal with her. Three-year-old Mollie throwing a tantrum was on thing but eight-year-old Mollie screaming in her face was another. She got up, deciding to check on her daughter to make sure she was asleep and ok. She opened the door to Mollie's room and saw that she was not in bed. This wasn't unusual as she had found her asleep in Henry's room a few times. Then she saw a little hand written note on Mollie's desk and her heart jumped into her mouth. _Goodbye Mom and Henry. _Then she noticed the window was unlatched and swinging open.

L&O: SVU

Sorry again that this chapter is so short. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story so far.


	4. Missing

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Mollie is missing…

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the storylines on the show. I do, however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Four: Missing

"Olivia! Slow down and tell me what is going on," Elliot tried to shake off the last remnants of sleep. He couldn't deal with the frantic Olivia on the other end of the phone while he was still half asleep. He glanced at his watch. 1:30AM.

"Elliot, Mollie is gone. The window is open and she's gone. There's a note on her desk that says goodbye," Olivia's voice cracked.

"I'm coming over there now," Elliot hung up on her. He scrambled around trying to put on his pants and shirt and find his keys. He cursed at the realization that he couldn't do all three things at once and temporarily abandoned the search for his keys. A few minutes later he was flying out the door.

L&O: SVU

Olivia paced as she waited for Elliot to arrive. She figured Mollie couldn't be far away but she was a little girl out in the dark in the middle of the night. God only knew what kind of filth could be lurking out there, waiting… She shook that thought out of her head when she heard a car in the driveway. She opened the door before Elliot even had a chance to knock.

"Oh my god Elliot! I don't know where she is! We had a fight and she ran away. Oh god. I hope that nothing's happened to her. I'll never forgive myself-," she was cut off when Elliot swept her into a tight hug.

"Look, you can't think about that ok? I'm going to call the rest of the squad and get some cops out looking for her. She can't have gone far. Do you have any idea where she might be trying to go?" Elliot asked, tenderly wiping the tears off of his partners cheeks.

"No. I…I don't know," Olivia sobbed.

"I'm going to make some phone calls ok," Elliot told her.

"Ok," Olivia replied.

"I want you to sit down and think of anywhere you think she might try to run to," He told her gently.

"Ok," Olivia repeated, taking a seat on the couch and running her hands through her hair.

L&O: SVU

Casey was sound asleep when she heard a knock on the door. She frowned wanting desperately to ignore it, but she couldn't because it was probably Elsie, the mother of the guy who lived in the apartment under her. Elsie had Alzheimer's and had a tendency to wander during the night. There was another knock. This one louder.

"I'm coming," she called out. She grabbed her dressing gown and wrapped it around her self. She opened the door and was surprised when a pair of little arms was thrown, with force, around her waist.

"Uh," Casey looked at the uniformed cop standing in the hallway.

"I found her wandering in Queens. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was looking for her Auntie Casey. She had a photo and she knew your address," he told her.

"Thanks so much," Casey nudged Mollie. "What do you say?" she prompted.

"Thank-you Officer Jordan," she replied dutifully.

"No problem. Good night," the Officer replied.

"Good night. Thanks again," Casey said as she pulled Mollie inside and locked the door.

"Mollie what were you doing out in the middle of the night?" Casey asked.

"Mommy and I had a fight," Mollie's big brown eyes filled with tears.

"Ok. Well you wait right here and I'm going to call your mommy and tell her where you are," Casey yawned as she picked up the phone and dialed Olivia's number.

L&O: SVU

Olivia was wracking her brain when the phone rang.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Liv? It's Casey. Something of yours just made it's way to my apartment," Casey told her.

"Oh my god! Is she ok? How the hell did she get all of the way to Manhattan?" Olivia asked, her voice cracking as tears of sheer relief rolled down her cheeks.

"An Officer Jordan found her wandering in Queens. She gave him my name and address and showed him a photo. So he gave her a lift to my place. She's absolutely fine Liv. Cold and wet but fine," Casey told her.

"Oh thank god," Olivia sighed. "Hang on, I have to tell Elliot," she put her hand over the receiver. "Elliot!" she called out.

"What's wrong?" he asked sticking his head into the room.

"Nothing's wrong. Mollie's at Casey's apartment. An Officer found her wandering around and she gave him Casey's address," Olivia told him with a watery smile.

"Oh thank god," Elliot sighed in relief. "I'll let the guys know."

"You there Casey?" Olivia said into the phone.

"Of course," Casey replied.

"I'm coming to get her," Olivia told her.

"Uh, why don't you wait until the morning? She's sound asleep on my couch. I'll have a good talk to her in the morning and then I'll bring her home," Casey told her.

"Well, um, ok," Olivia was a little upset by that. she wanted to see her baby to make sure she was ok.

"Liv, she's totally fine. You know I'll take good care of her," Casey said, as if reading Olivia's mind.

"Ok. Uh, I'll see you in the morning then," Olivia told her.

"Ok, night," Casey replied.

"Night," Olivia hung up the phone.

L&O: SVU

Elliot came back into the room just as Olivia hung up the phone. She took one look at him and burst into tears.

"I was so scared. I was terrified of what might have happened to her. I thought I'd feel better when I knew that she was ok. But I don't. Now all I can think about is what might have happened if that cop hadn't found her when he did," she sobbed. Elliot sighed and sat down beside his partner on the couch. After a few seconds contemplation he put his arm around her. He was surprised when she turned into him, hanging on tightly and burying her face in his shoulder. "I was so scared Elliot. So, so scared…," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"I know you were Liv. I know you were," he whispered back. He turned his head and planted a kiss on the top of Olivia's. "Are we going to get her?" he asked.

"No. Casey's going to bring her home in the morning after they have one of their special Auntie-niece talks," Olivia mumbled sleepily. Elliot realized that the adrenaline was wearing off and Olivia was about to fall asleep in his arms. He rubbed her back for a while until her breathing evened out and she relaxed totally against him. He decided to hold her for a while longer to let her fall into a deeper sleep so that he could carry her to bed. He took the opportunity to memorise the way she felt in his arms, the way she smelled and the lulling sound of her breathing. He knew he shouldn't but he just couldn't help himself. He was falling for her. Hard.

L&O: SVU

Well tell me what you think! I figured since they're never going to hook them up on the show I might as well! Mandi- I wasn't going to pair them up but i'm going to just for you because you were very nice to me after I made you wait for so long! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed.


	5. Talking

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Special Auntie-Niece talk.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the story lines on the show. I do, however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Five: Talking

"What would you like on your toast Mollie?" Casey asked the little girl.

"Honey please Auntie Casey," Mollie replied.

"Sure," Casey grabbed the jar of honey out of the cupboard. "Mollie, why did you run away last night?" she asked as she spread the toast.

"I don't want to talk about that right now Auntie Casey," Mollie said quietly.

"Well that's ok. Whenever you're ready to talk I'll be here. Ok?" Casey stroked Mollie's bouncy curls gently as she set Mollie's toast in front of her.

"Can I stay with you Auntie Casey? I don't want to go home," Mollie wouldn't look at Casey when she asked.

"I'll talk to your Mom once I've dropped you off at school. Ok?" Casey told her.

"Ok. Thank you," Mollie said quietly. Casey watched as she started picking at her toast, not really eating it.

"That's ok," Casey replied.

L&O: SVU

"She doesn't want to talk. After the whole running away thing I didn't think it was a good idea to push the issue," Casey told Olivia gently.

"Yeah I guess," Olivia replied sadly.

"She asked if she could stay with me for a while," Casey told Olivia. "I told her I'd ask you."

"Oh," Olivia said quietly. Her stomach twisted and she felt so rejected. Her little girl didn't want to come home to her.

"Look Liv. What if I have her for tonight and see if she'll talk to me? Then I can see if I can convince her to go home to you?" Casey asked giving Olivia's arm a squeeze.

"Ok," Olivia said in that same quiet voice. She glanced up just long enough for Casey to notice the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh Liv, come here," Casey pulled her friend into her arms and hugged her tightly. "We'll sort this out. Promise," she told her, pulling back to wipe Olivia's tears away with her thumbs.

"Ok. Thanks Case," Olivia gave her a watery smile.

L&O: SVU

Elliot watched Olivia out of the corner of his eye. She hadn't moved in over ten minutes, she just seemed to stare at a nonexistent spot on the page in front of her. That worried him. Usually you couldn't get the woman to sit still.

"Liv?" No answer. "Olivia?" he leaned over and waved his pen in front of her eyes. She jumped about a foot off of her chair and whipped around to look at him.

"What?" she asked.

"Olivia, you have been staring at the same spot on that page for over ten minutes. What's going on?" he asked.

"It's…Elliot it's Mollie. She wont come home. She wants to stay with Casey. I have no idea what is going on with her," Olivia said sadly.

"Well eight year old girls are complicated Liv. Did something happen to bring this on?" he asked her.

"Well I talked to her principal and her teacher yesterday and apparently she has been acting up at school. Big time. She's been fighting, biting, swearing and terrorizing other kids with death threats. I tried to have a talk to her about but she screamed in my face. I just didn't know what to do so I left her alone and when I went back in to check on her she had run away. She hasn't been like this since I first adopted her five years ago El!" Olivia told him.

"Wow. Olivia I'm sure Casey will be able to figure out what's going on with her," Elliot told her.

"It seems as though she only ever wants to talk to Casey now," Olivia said sadly. Elliot hated hearing the pain in his partner's voice. He came around the desk and crouched in front of her, taking her hand in both of his.

"It's like I said, eight year old girls are complicated," he squeezed her hand causing her to look up at him. "This will be ok Liv. Promise," he told her with a reassuring smile.

"Ok," she smiled weakly back.

L&O: SVU

"So what are we going to eat Miss Mollie?" Casey asked Mollie. They were standing in her kitchen contemplating the contents of her fridge.

"Pancakes!" Mollie replied. "Please Auntie Casey? Pleeeease?" she begged.

"Pancakes are not healthy. Pancakes will make me fat. Do you really want your Auntie Casey to get fat Mollie?" Casey asked teasingly. She gave her a light jab in the ribs that caused the little girl to squeal.

"Are banana pancakes healthy? Will they make you fat?" Mollie asked cheekily.

"Maybe not as fat," Casey told her. "Do you really want pancakes for dinner Molls? Why don't we have chicken salad and if you still want pancakes later we can make a couple for dessert?" Casey suggested.

"Ok. Can I help make salad?" Mollie asked. Casey was surprised that she had abandoned the idea of pancakes so easily.

"Yes you can help, you can wash and shred the lettuce if you'd like," Casey told her ruffling her hair.

"Cool," Mollie replied. While Mollie was busy painstakingly shredding lettuce, Casey set to work cooking chicken. The chicken was cooling and Casey was cutting up a tomato when Mollie spoke.

"Does Mommy love me Auntie Casey?" she asked. Casey set down her knife and lifted Mollie up onto the counter.

"Yes your Mom loves you. She loves you very, very much," Casey replied gently. Mollie looked at Casey and then burst into tears. Casey pulled her into a tight hug. She could feel Mollie's little body shaking violently with the force of her sobs. She made quiet shushing noises and rubbed Mollie's back until her crying subsided.

"Can we go see my Mommy before school tomorrow? Please?" she asked with a sniffle.

"Of course. I'll ring her now and let her know that we'll be coming around if you like," Casey told her.

"That would be good. Thanks Auntie Casey," Mollie sniffled again. Her big brown eyes were bright and puffy from crying and the tear tracks were still on her cheeks. The sight of her almost made Casey want to cry. She lifted her down from the counter and went to ring Olivia to inform her of the plan for the next morning. She hadn't figured out the cause of Mollie's behavior but at least she wanted to see Olivia again.

L&O: SVU

I'm back laughs nervously. I know it's been a frigging long time but it's been a difficult year and my writing just hasn't been a high priority. Now that things are getting sorted out (touch wood) I'm hoping to get back on track with my writing and get some stories finished and write some new ones.

Thanks for reading! I like reviews even if I don't deserve them after taking so much time to update! ;-p


	6. Worse

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: The situation goes from bad to a little bit better to a hell of a lot worse.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the story lines on the show. I do; however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Six: Worse

It had been two months since Mollie ran away and things were once again peaceful in the Benson household. Olivia still had no idea what had caused her to do it and she was too scared to confront her about it for fear she would do it again. She figured that whatever had caused it had passed and that things would be ok from now on. She seemed to have settled down at school now too and was back to her usual bubbly self. Olivia leaned against the doorframe and watched the two kids. Mollie sat on the floor doing her homework. Henry was using her pens and drawing pictures.

"OOK!" he suddenly shrieked, thrusting a piece of paper under Mollie's nose.

"It's very pretty Henry," Mollie replied absently.

"Dog. Woof, woof," he told her with a proud smile.

"Woof, woof," Mollie repeated. Henry got up and ran around he room with his piece of paper screaming "Woof, woof" at the top of his lungs.

"Indoor voice Henry!" Olivia called out, covering her ears.

"Door voice!" he yelled back. He suddenly whirled around and kicked Mollie hard. Then ran away laughing.

"OW!" Mollie shrieked. She threw a pen at him, hitting him on the shoulder.

"Ouchies," he giggled.

"That hurt Henry," Mollie pouted, rubbing her back where his foot had made contact. Henry walked back over behind Mollie and kneeled down, lifting her shirt and planting sloppy kisses on her back.

"Ouchies gone!" he told her patting her on the head and going back to his pictures.

"Thank you," Mollie replied. Olivia smiled at the exchange, resting her head against the doorframe.

L&O: SVU

"Let's get you into the bath Mr. Henry," Olivia told her wriggling son. He apparently wasn't keen on a bath tonight.

"Bubbles! Bubbles!" he shrieked, writhing in her arms.

"We used up all of the bubbles last time remember?" Olivia told him.

"Bubbles gone?" Henry asked, pouting.

"All gone," Olivia told him. She set him on his feet and grabbed the bottom of his tee shirt. "Arms up," she told him and he complied, allowing her to pull the shirt off. When he put his arms back down Olivia noticed some bruises on his upper arms. "You've been knocking yourself around again!" she told Henry. He looked at Olivia with his big blue eyes and smiled.

"Ouchies," he told her pointing to the bruises.

"Yeah," Olivia finished undressing Henry and picked him up, putting him into the bathtub. He immediately grabbed for his plastic submarine and started his usual routine of ducking and diving and making 'vroom vroom' noises. Olivia had to contain a laugh when he stopped the submarine with the whoosh sound of hydraulic brakes.

L&O: SVU

Olivia waited outside of Mollie's school for her daughter to come out. Henry was digging a hole in the garden with his favourite digger making his usual loud noises. Another little boy was watching him intently. When he heard the bell ring he jumped up and put the digger into his little backpack that Olivia was holding. She smiled as he stood in front of her bending at the knees and rocking on his feet in anticipation. As soon as Mollie walked out of her classroom he took off at high speed, running as fast as his little 18-month-old legs would carry him. As he reached Mollie he slammed into her nearly knocking her down.

"Oh that's gorgeous," someone behind Olivia said. "There's a little man who loves his big sister." Olivia glanced over her shoulder and saw two women watching her kids. She smiled proudly. She turned back and watched as Mollie lugged Henry toward her. Once she got there she set him down and he immediately started digging in his backpack. After a few seconds he pulled out a piece of paper, which was smothered in bright paint, paste, glitter, some sand and a couple of peanuts from his lunchbox, and thrust it at Mollie, watching her expectantly.

"Thanks Henry, it's beautiful," Mollie told him and he smiled hugely. He slipped his hand in hers and they walked just ahead of Olivia to the car.

L&O: SVU

Olivia was in the kitchen when there was a large bang and Henry started screaming. She bolted through to the living room and stopped dead when she saw them. Henry was sitting by the coffee, table blood pouring from his mouth where his teeth had pierced his lip. Mollie was standing over him. Olivia rushed forward scooping Henry up and turning to take him back to the kitchen to get some ice. She had reached the door when Mollie spoke.

"I told you not to touch that Henry," she said darkly. "I told you."

Olivia turned and could barely recognize her daughter beneath the mask of pure fury on her face. Olivia looked at Henry and then back at Mollie.

"Mollie? Mollie what did you do?" she whispered.

L&O: SVU

I know it's a wee bit on the short side…

Thanks for reading….

Next Chapter: Olivia doesn't know what to do with Mollie. So who does she call for some parental advice…?


	7. Advice

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Olivia doesn't know what to do with Mollie. So she calls Elliot for some parental advice.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the story lines on the show. I do; however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Seven: Advice

"She did what?" Elliot asked, shocked.

"She pushed him face first into the coffee table. Elliot can you come over? Please? I…I have no idea what to do," Olivia replied shakily.

"Yeah, yeah Liv I'll be right over ok?" Elliot assured her.

She paced back and forward with Henry eating a Popsicle in her arms as she waited. She peeked into the living room at one point and saw that Mollie was sitting stone still on the couch staring at a spot on the carpet. She heard a car pull into the driveway and rushed to open the door.

"Hey. You ok?" Elliot asked as he got out of the car.

"No," Olivia burst into tears. "What did I do wrong Elliot?" she sobbed.

"Nothing. Olivia you did nothing wrong. He put an arm around her shoulders and rested his chin against her head.

L&O: SVU

When they got inside they found Mollie in the exact same position Olivia had seen her in before. Elliot signaled to Olivia to go into the kitchen while he had a talk with Mollie. He walked over and sat down on the couch beside her.

"Hi Miss Mollie," he said lightly. No response. "Mollie, why did you hurt Henry like that?" He asked. No response. "Oh Mollie. I know that you love Henry so much and I can't understand why you would do that to him. His teeth nearly went all of the way through his lip," Elliot told her. Her little shoulders began to shake and Elliot rested a hand on her narrow back. She suddenly turned and climbed onto Elliot's lap, facing him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. Sobs wracked her small body and Elliot held her tighter to his chest. He just sat still, holding her and stoking her back and her hair as she cried and cried. After about 20 minutes Mollie's sobs had all but tapered off and she had gone limp in Elliot's arms. He waited another 5 minutes and then shifted Mollie slightly, allowing him to see her face. Her face was all puffy and shiny, a mixture of wet and dry tear tracks marked her cheeks and her eyes were wet, red and puffy. She had the hiccups. Elliot's heart ached; she was a sorry little sight.

"I didn't mean to hurt him Elliot. I was angry," she looked up at him as if waiting for him to yell or scold.

"What made you angry Mollie?" Elliot asked, brushing her curls back from her face.

"Mom," Mollie replied darkly.

L&O: SVU

Elliot was actually quite shocked. Mollie adored Olivia and Liv loved her kids more than life itself.

"How did your Mom make you angry Mollie?" he asked.

"Are you going to take her side?" Mollie asked accusingly. She crawled off of his lap to sit beside him.

"No, Mollie," he told her.

"Ok," she nodded slightly.

"Mollie what happened?" Elliot asked.

"I think I am invisible to her. When I ask for her to help me with my homework she says 'I'll help you later. I'm busy with Henry'. They're just playing. He can play by himself. I always take a bath and wash my hair by myself and brush my hair by myself which is hard because it is very long and tangly and when I ask for help she's busy with Henry. She hardly ever tucks me in anymore because Henry goes to bed at 8 o'clock too and she's always too busy reading him his stories. She never takes me for ice-cream or to the toy store just to look any more. And when we go to the toy store she buys toys for Henry and not for me. I don't think that she likes me much anymore," Mollie's quiet voice cracked. "She loves Henry more than me because he is all new and fun and I'm just old and boring," she told him. "Before I asked Mom if she could help me with my art project. But she said she was busy with Henry. And she wasn't even watching him and he came in here and he wrecked my project," Mollie pointed to a ripped and scribbled on piece of paper on the floor. Elliot stood and picked it up, it had been a beautiful picture of the house. Carefully drawn with a ruler and painstakingly perfectly coloured in. "I got really angry and I pushed him and his face hit the coffee table and I'm sorry!" Mollie began to sob again. Elliot picked her up and hugged her tightly until she cried herself to sleep.

L&O: SVU

Elliot found Olivia in Henry's room, watching the little boy sleep. He inclined his head toward the kitchen and she followed him out of the room, closing the door behind her. Once they were in the kitchen Olivia turned on the baby monitor and made them a coffee each before sitting down opposite Elliot at the kitchen table.

"You were in there an awfully long time. What did she say?" Olivia asked.

"Liv," Elliot sighed. "You're not going to like this much at all," he told her.

"What?" she asked apprehensively.

"She's feeling completely and utterly neglected by you," he had debated sugarcoating it but had come to the conclusion that she needed to hear it straight up, no bullshit.

"What? Why?" Olivia asked, shocked.

"She feels like you never have time for her anymore. She thinks you love Henry more than her because he is fun and new and she is old and boring," he told her. He saw her eyes fill up but he ploughed on anyway. "She says you never help her with her homework anymore, or help her to wash and brush her hair. And one thing she mentioned was that you never take her out for ice cream anymore or take her to the toy shop just to look. You two used to do that nearly every week. She says that when you take them to the toy store that you buy toys for Henry and not her," he told her.

"But she has toys and Henry doesn't. And he gets really hard to manage when he eats lots of sugar," she protested, she couldn't get her head around what he was saying.

"Liv she is an 8-year-old little girl. That may seem totally logical to you and me but her mind doesn't work that way. It seems entirely unfair to her. Think about it from her point of view. Mollie doesn't get hyper off of ice-cream but Henry does. He can't have any so Mollie can't either?" he was trying to be gentle but firm. "And the toy thing? Yes you got her heaps of toys when she was younger and Henry needs a few more but she doesn't see it that way. She feels like you're playing favourites. She's jealous of him Liv. And she pushed him today because he wrecked her art project that you said you couldn't help her with because you were busy with Henry," he felt like a total asshole for telling her this because it was clearly hurting her, but she needed to hear it. He picked up the picture that he had placed on the table and handed it to her. "Look at this Olivia. It was beautiful, it took her a very long time to draw that and colour it. Can you blame her for being angry?" he asked.

"No," she said shakily. "What do I do?"

"Well, you could put Henry to bed 30 minutes earlier and let Mollie stay up 30 minutes later so she gets your full attention for a little while each night. You could dump Henry on Casey for an hour and take Mollie out for ice-cream and to the toy store to just look. If you buy him a toy offer to buy her something too. She's a funny kid, she just loves to look at the toys and she probably wont want anything but it's the offer that means something to her. Talk to her and see what she wants you to do and compromise on it," Elliot suggested. He reached across to take her hand and she held on tight. "I'm sorry I know this is killing you and that you never meant to make her feel like this," He told her gently.

"I feel horrible El," Olivia finally gave up and burst into tears. Elliot moved around the table to hug her tightly.

"Don't feel horrible Liv. We all manage to do it at some point in our parenting careers. You know what's going on now and you can fix it. That's the important thing," he told her. He held her for a few minutes before letting go. "I have to get home. The twins are coming to stay and I need to be home when they arrive," he told her.

"Ok. Thank you so much Elliot," Olivia told him. She walked him to the front door and then leaned up and kissed his cheek. "What would I do without you?" she said, half joking. He grinned and winked cheekily before he headed out of the door and to his car. He waved to her as he pulled out of her driveway.

L&O: SVU

Olivia went into the living room after Elliot left and looked at her sleeping daughter. Watching her and replaying the conversation in her head brought tears to her eyes. She crouched beside Mollie she ran a hand from the top of her head to the small of her back. She leaned down and kissed her head.

"I'm so sorry Mollie," she whispered. She kissed her again before tucking her in more tightly. Mollie stirred in her sleep and smiled just the tiniest little bit. Olivia made her a promise in her head that she would fix this.

L&O: SVU

Longer chapter to make up for the last one.

Thank you for reading and to everyone who has reviewed throughout the story. Reviews make me very, very happy.

Marish89 – Man you were quick to review that last chapter! It had been up all of two minutes when you reviewed it! Just felt that I had to state that.


	8. Confusion

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes:

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the story lines on the show. I do; however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Eight: Solutions

The air in the Benson house was tense that night. Mollie wouldn't look Olivia in the eye, seemingly too scared of what she would see there. Henry seemed to have picked up on the tension and was trying to break the ice. Mollie had been sitting staring at her plate of fish fingers for half an hour and hadn't taken a single bite.

"Mollie eat?" Henry asked. He picked up one of Mollie's cold fish fingers. He held it up and tried to poke it into her mouth. Mollie clamped her mouth down so that he couldn't get it in, her lips quirked up in a smile which she quickly suppressed. "No. Mollie eat," Henry pushed one of his fingers into Mollie's mouth and wriggled it around trying to get her to open her mouth. She finally did to tell him to go away and as soon as she did Henry took the opportunity to shove the fish stick in. "Mollie eat," he said approvingly, patting her gently on the head.

L&O: SVU

Olivia was standing outside of Mollie's bedroom. She could hear that Mollie was listening to Sleeping Beauty and that it was nearly finished so she decided to wait a few more minutes. When she heard the song that ended the tape she opened the door.

"Can we talk?" she asked quietly. Mollie looked away and nodded. She reached over and switched her stereo off. She remained facing away from Olivia. Olivia sat down on her bed beside her.

"I want to say that I'm sorry," she began. "I'm sorry I didn't realise that you were feeling left out. I need you to talk to me and to help me fix this," she reached over and ran her hand over the back of Mollie's head. "How can we fix this Mollie?" she asked.

"Aren't you really mad with me? I really hurt Henry this morning. I bet he hates me," Mollie said quietly.

"Mollie he loves you! He was trying to make you feel better by feeding you your fish sticks before. He knows it was an accident that he hit his mouth and so do I," Olivia told her. She pulled Mollie onto her lap and cuddled her tightly to her chest. Mollie stiffened briefly before relaxing in her mother's arms. "How can we fix this Mollie?" Olivia asked. Mollie didn't respond so Olivia put an offer on the table. "Mollie how would you feel about making a special time for just us. I could leave Henry with Auntie Casey or one of Elliot's girls and we could have some time together. Mollie pulled back to look at Olivia critically.

"Could we go for ice cream?" she asked quietly. Olivia grinned at her.

"Ice cream and to the toy store just to look," Olivia told her, brushing an errant curl out of Mollie's eyes.

"Ok," Mollie said seriously.

Olivia felt relieved. She decided to offer Elliot's other suggestion. "I was thinking that maybe we could make your bed time a bit later and Henry's a bit earlier. That way I can help you with your homework at night without Henry interrupting," she told Mollie.

"Ok," Mollie replied. "I want to go to sleep now Mom. I'm really tired," she said quietly, crawling off of Olivia's lap and back into her bed. Olivia sighed. At least their talk had been civil this time. She stood and tucked the blankets around her daughter. She leaned down and kissed her cheek before leaving the room and her daughter to sleep. She sighed again and decided to check Henry and then take a hot bath to try and relax.

L&O: SVU

Mollie lay in the darkness in her room trying to sort through the confusion of the messages that her heart and her brain were giving her. In her heart she really wanted to be excited, she wanted to believe that this was really going to happen but her brain told her not to get her hopes up. She really wanted to talk to Auntie Casey right now. She would make it better. She could hear that her mom was in the bath. She always took ages in there so she got up and tiptoed out to the kitchen. Picking up the phone she dialled Casey's number and waited.

"Novak," the familiar voice stated curtly.

"Hi Auntie Casey. It's Mollie here," Mollie replied.

"Hi Miss Mollie," the voice softened and became light and playful. That was the Auntie Casey that Mollie adored so much. "What's on your mind Bubby?" she asked. Mollie smiled. Auntie Casey often called her 'Bubby' when she knew she was upset.

"Well…Auntie Casey Mom says that we can have time to ourselves and that she's going to change things and my heart wants to believe her but my brain doesn't want to let it," all the words just tumbled out.

"Oh Mollie. I can't really help you there Bubby. Your heart and your brain have to work it out for themselves. You might just have to wait and see. Would you like me to have a talk to your Mom?" Casey asked. Mollie thought for a moment.

"Yes please. I really want things to change. I want to go for ice cream and to the toy store just to look. I really, really do," she said earnestly.

"I know. Hey it's late Mollie. You should go and hop into your snuggly warm bed and have a good sleep ok? You're going to come to my house tomorrow remember?" Casey reminded Mollie.

"Yeah. Night, night Auntie Casey," said Mollie.

"Night, night Bubby," Casey replied. They hung up on the count of three like always and Mollie tiptoed back into her room and crawled into her bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep quickly, content in the knowledge that Auntie Casey was on the case.

L&O: SVU

Thanks for reading! Reviews make me happy.

-Sarah


	9. Bonding

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Olivia and Mollie do some mother-daughter bonding.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the story lines on the show. I do; however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Nine: Bonding

"So what do you want to do first?" Olivia asked. It was Saturday afternoon and Henry was at Casey's house.

"Ice Cream. Please," Mollie smiled a little. Olivia reached over and tucked a curl behind her daughters ear.

"Ice Cream it is. I'm going to have chocolate with raspberry swirl," She told Mollie. "What about you?"

"Mmmmm. I don't know. But I want sprinkles. Can I have sprinkles?" Mollie asked.

"You can have sprinkles if you want sprinkles," Olivia replied.

"Yay! I love sprinkles!" Mollie said excitedly.

L&O: SVU

"My friend Bella from New Zealand says that where she lived she could get ice cream with dolphin shaped sprinkles! How cool is that?!" Mollie asked as she ate her chocolate and raspberry ice cream which the nice old man who ran the shop had smothered in pink and purple sprinkles.

"That's very cool Molls. She came from New Zealand huh?" Olivia asked. She hadn't heard of a Bella before.

"Yeah that's really far away from here," Mollie told Olivia. "We looked on the globe. Mom did you know that when its lunch time on Monday here its like really early on Tuesday morning in New Zealand? Weird huh?" Mollie asked.

"Yeah that is weird," Olivia agreed. "It's very interesting too isn't it?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. And she says that when it's winter time here it's the summer in New Zealand. They go swimming and eat outside in the sun on Christmas Day! Is that true?" Mollie asked.

"It is true. I bet New York feels all backwards to Bella," Olivia smiled. This was the most Mollie had talked in a very long time. Olivia realised that she had missed it.

"That's what she says. She doesn't like it here much but I think she just misses all her friends and her family," Mollie said wisely. "I give her hugs when she's sad."

"Well that's nice of you Molls. I bet she feels better when you give her hugs," Olivia couldn't help but smile, this was the sweet little girl she loved so much.

"Yeah. Are we going to the toy store just to look after this?" Mollie asked. Olivia fought back a laugh when she tried to shove a huge bite of ice cream into her mouth.

"If that's what you want to do, then that's what we'll do," Olivia told her.

L&O: SVU

"Oh mom look," Mollie grabbed Olivia's hand and tugged her over to a stand of stuffed toys. She pointed out a cute little bear sitting in the middle of the pile. She picked it up and sighed. "Oh it's so soft. Feel it mom," she held it up to Olivia.

"Oh wow it is isn't it," She glanced at the price tag and saw that it wasn't very expensive. "Would you like me to buy it for you Mollie?" she asked.

"Oh I don't know," Mollie looked doubtful but Olivia could tell that she really wanted the bear.

"Mollie if you want the bear you can have it. Hey, can you help me pick a little present for Henry too?" she asked a little cautiously.

"Yeah! Can I really have him Mom?" she asked, staring at the little bear adoringly.

"You can really have him Sweetie," Olivia ruffled Mollie's hair.

"Thank you mom," Mollie skipped off toward the toddler toys clutching her bear tightly. Olivia was about to follow her when she glanced back at the rack and saw a little stuffed dog. She smiled and picked it up. Casey had been moaning last week about wanting to move somewhere where she could have a dog. She wandered over to join Mollie at the toddler toys. The two of them looked through the toys until they found a little toy boat for Henry.

L&O: SVU

In the car on the way to Casey's, Mollie had gone quiet again. Olivia put it down to her being tired. As they neared Casey's apartment Mollie spoke.

"Are we going to do this again? More I mean?" she asked.

"Yeah. Yeah we are," Olivia assured her.

"Can we do it once a month Mom?" Mollie asked.

"Yeah. That sounds good to me," Olivia smiled at her.

"Do you promise me Mom? I mean it. Don't promise me unless you really, really mean it. Ok?" Mollie asked. She was looking hard at Olivia as if trying to catch her in a lie.

"Mollie I promise. I promise from the bottom of my heart," Olivia told Mollie. She reached over and squeezed Mollie's hand. Mollie said nothing for a couple of minutes. She just stared out of the car window.

"Ok Mom," she smiled a little.

L&O: SVU

Back at Casey's Mollie and Henry were excitedly playing with Henry's boat in the bathtub while Casey and Olivia talked.

"So how'd it go?" Casey asked.

"It went really well," Olivia told her. "She talked away about kids at school and ate lots of ice cream. She even let me buy her that bear she showed you."

"Oh that's great Liv," Casey grinned.

"Oh I got something for you too," Olivia reached into her bag and found the stuffed toy she had bought. She held it out to Casey who grinned.

"Oh that is so cute!"

"Now you don't have to move!" Olivia told her cheekily.

"Oh ha ha ha," Casey reached over and gave Olivia a gentle shove. "You're just hilarious," she said sarcastically.

"I like to think so," Olivia replied cheekily. Loud giggles suddenly erupted from the direction of the bathroom. "What are you two doing in there?" Olivia called out.

"Henry pushed a button and it squirted his eye!" came Mollie's giggly voice.

"Oops," Olivia called back. "Just don't make a mess in there will you?"

"Of course not Mom," Mollie replied innocently.

"Her idea of mess and mine are two very different ideas," Olivia grimaced a little. Casey laughed.

"I'm so glad things are looking up for you guys now," Casey said seriously.

"Me too," Olivia looked at her hands. "I couldn't have done this without you Casey. You've been so supportive to me and to Mollie. Thank you so much for that," Olivia said quietly. She continued to stare at her hands. Casey moved along the couch to sit beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. She pulled Olivia's head down to rest on her shoulder and rested her cheek against it.

"You never have to thank me for that Liv. Never," Casey told her. Olivia just reached up and squeezed the hand that was sitting on her shoulder. Casey pulled back, leaving her arm around Olivia's shoulders.

"I think that it's gotten altogether too quiet in here," she stated.

"I say we go see what they've done to your bathroom," Olivia smiled. They stood up but before Casey could move away Olivia pulled her into a quick hug. She let go and headed toward the bathroom without saying anything.

L&O: SVU

It ends randomly but oh well. One more chapter to go and its finally finished.

Thank you to those who are still reading and reviewing. I know I've been terrible at updating this story.

Sarah


	10. Dinner

Title: Fallin' In Love Again

Author: Ebony-Jayne

Notes: Last chapter!!! A thank you dinner…

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the show or the story lines on the show. I do; however, own the characters that I make up so please don't steal them. Any resemblance to anyone or anyplace is a coincidence.

L&O: SVU

Chapter Ten: Dinner

"Hey," Olivia greeted Elliot when she found him in the locker room.

"Uh hey. I thought you were going home?" he replied.

"I was. I mean I am. I just wanted to ask you if you'd like to come out for dinner with Casey, the kids and I? My shout, sort of a thank you for all your help and support," she explained.

"Sounds great. When and where?" he asked her.

"Uhhhh not sure on that yet. Probably Friday night but I don't know time or place. I'll let you know," she told him.

"Great," he grinned at her.

"Great," she echoed, grinning back. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See ya," Elliot replied.

L&O: SVU

The dinner had eventually been scheduled for 6.30pm on Friday. So at 5pm on Friday the Benson house was a madhouse.

"MOM!! Is Auntie Casey here yet?!" Mollie yelled from her bedroom.

"No, she's like two minutes away!" Olivia yelled back from the bathroom where she was trying to do her hair and make up. Mollie was getting antsy because Casey had agreed to french braid her hair. Olivia still couldn't figure out how to do it. Mollie came into the bathroom to watch Olivia do her makeup.

"Mom can I wear mascara?" she asked.

"No," Olivia replied trying to focus on what she was doing so that she didn't poke herself in the eye with the mascara brush.

"Why not?" Mollie whined.

"Because you're eight," Olivia replied.

"I'm nearly nine," Mollie said sulkily. "Can I wear lipstick?" she asked brightly.

"No. You can wear that tinted lip-gloss that Casey gave you though," Olivia told her.

"Oooh Ok!" as Mollie skipped off Olivia heard a car come up the driveway. She finished putting on her mascara and went to let Casey in.

"Hey," she grinned as she let Casey in. "You look great," she commented as she took in Casey's dark green top and dark blue jeans.

"So do you," Casey replied. "Right now where is that girl of yours?"

"In her room," Olivia told her. Casey grinned and headed to find Mollie.

L&O: SVU

It was somewhat of a miracle that they arrived at the restaurant on time but they did. Elliot was waiting by the door for them.

"Hello ladies and Henry," he greeted. He received a chorus of hellos back and Olivia handed Henry to him.

"Have a kid El," she grinned.

"Thanks," he replied sarcastically. "How ya doin' Henry?" he asked.

"Elliot," Henry replied, patting Elliot's arm.

"That's me. How about we open the door for these ladies?" Elliot asked.

"Open door," Henry nodded. Elliot moved and opened the door for the women. Inside they took off their coats and hung them over the backs of their chairs.

"Like my outfit Elliot?" Mollie twirled so that Elliot could see all of her outfit – a purple top with pink polka dots and bows at the side and jeans.

"You look beautiful Mollie," Elliot told her. "All you ladies look great," he said, looking directly at Olivia as he said it. This didn't escape Mollie and Casey's attention. Casey winked at Mollie and she giggled. The last time Mollie had stayed at Casey's she had told Casey about how Elliot and Olivia always made 'googly eyes' at each other.

L&O: SVU

As they waited for the food they had ordered Mollie was entertaining them all by chattering non-stop about kids at school.

"There's this new boy and his name is Travis and he's kind of cool and his Mom's a lesbian!" she told them. Olivia choked on her drink and Casey tried not to laugh, she had known that was coming.

"What?!" Olivia managed to splutter.

"A lesbian mom. You know, she likes girls instead of boys," Mollie told her.

"I know what a lesbian is Mollie. I'm just surprised that you do," Olivia said, recovering.

"Mom I'm eight," Mollie told her. Casey tried not to laugh at Mollies 'well duh' tone. "Travis' mom is a vet," Mollie went on with her story. "He has three cats, two dogs and a bird that talks. He brought his bird to show and tell. It says funny things. Travis is trying to teach it to say 'butt crack'-,"

"Ok that's not really table talk Mollie," Olivia interrupted.

"Sorry," Mollie apologised. "Mom can Bella and Travis come and have a sleep over for my birthday?" she asked.

"Maybe. We'll see when it gets closer to your birthday ok?" Olivia told her.

"Ok," Mollie said. A waiter appeared and put plates in front of Henry and Mollie. "Oooh food. Thank you!" she said brightly to the waiter.

"You're most welcome," the waiter replied.

L&O: SVU

Once they had finished their dinner they headed back to Olivia's for a few drinks. Henry had been cranky and more than ready for bed by the time they got home and had been asleep within minutes of Olivia tucking him in. Mollie was not so keen on going to bed.

"What does vodka taste like mom?" she asked.

"You'll find out when you're 21," Olivia said dryly. "Would you like to take my laptop into your room and watch a movie?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Mollie said excitedly. "I want to watch Madagascar!"

Olivia rooted around in their video cupboard until she found the DVD Mollie wanted. Then she handed Mollie her laptop which had been sitting up on a shelf. "You know how to set it up right?" Olivia asked.

"Yep," Mollie told her.

"Ok you come and see me when the movie is finished and I'll come tuck you in all right?" Olivia told her.

"Ok Mom. Night Auntie Casey, night Elliot!" Mollie raced around to give them kisses and cuddles then headed to her bedroom singing 'I like to move it, move it! I like to move it, move it!', causing them all to laugh.

L&O: SVU

"Sorry about the restaurant conversation," Casey told Olivia. "I knew that was coming and I should have stopped it but I wanted to see the look on your face when she said it," she explained.

"Thanks for that," Olivia said sarcastically. "It was funny though. Eight year olds just aren't as innocent as they used to be are they? I can remember finding out what a lesbian was when I was 13!" she told them. Casey laughed.

"Me too," she agreed.

"Next comes the sex talk," Elliot teased.

"Oh god," Olivia buried her face in her hands.

"I think you'll find she's quite informed about that too," Casey giggled.

"Casey!" Olivia yelped.

"It wasn't me!" Casey defended herself. "When she was at my house one night she told me that someone at school told her what sex was and asked me if they were lying. I just told her they weren't lying," she told Olivia.

"Then what?" Olivia asked.

"Then she told me that grown ups are even more gross than she thought and changed the subject," Casey laughed and Olivia and Elliot followed.

"I just wish she could stay innocent forever," Olivia sighed. "She's got such a pure view of the world and human nature. I wish she didn't have to learn the truth about it. I wish I could spare her finding out that some people are just plain evil and that there's no rhyme or reason to the awful things they do."

"Welcome to the world of parenting Liv," Elliot replied. "Almost every parent wishes that for their child. And the ones that don't, should," he told her.

"Amen to that," Casey agreed, she downed the rest of her vodka and orange juice in one gulp.

L&O: SVU

It was 1am when Elliot finally decided to call it a night. Casey had fallen asleep (or passed out – Olivia wasn't sure which - ) on the couch at about 12.30am. Olivia stood and walked to the door with Elliot.

"Thanks for all of you support with the kids Elliot. I couldn't have done this without you and Case," Olivia told him.

"No problem Liv," he told her. "You look really nice tonight," he said awkwardly.

"Thank you…um…will you come and pick up you car in the morning?" she asked to break the tension.

"Yeah," Elliot replied. "Thanks for dinner," he added.

"You're welcome," she replied.

"Night Liv," Elliot smiled and turned away. A hand landed on his elbow and turned him back around. He was shocked when a pair of soft, warm lips landed on his. The kiss wasn't long but it was definitely longer than a friendly kiss would have been. Olivia pulled away and smiled shyly.

"Goodnight Elliot," she said softly.

"Night Liv," he repeated his earlier statement and turned to walk home.

L&O: SVU

Mollie waited until she heard her mom get into bed before she headed back out to the living room. She approached the couch. Casey was snoring quietly which told Mollie that she wasn't really drunk. Mollie reached out and touched her cheek.

"Auntie Casey," she said softly. Casey stirred. "Auntie Casey," Mollie repeated.

"Mmmm?" Casey said sleepily.

"Guess what?" Mollie asked.

"What?" Casey sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

"Mom and Elliot were saying goodnight out by the front door and mom gave Elliot a kiss!" Mollie said excitedly.

"Oh Mollie that's awesome," Casey grinned.

"I know," Mollie replied smiling. "Will you come and sleep in my bed Auntie Casey?" she asked shyly.

"If you want," Casey replied. Mollie nodded and so Casey followed her up the stairs and the two of them climbed into Mollie's bed. Mollie snuggled up and they both fell asleep quickly.

L&O: SVU

Olivia woke up at 7.30am the next day when Henry called out to her. As she walked him down the hall to her room for their morning snuggle, she saw Casey and Mollie snuggled up together in Mollies bed. She smiled and quietly walked in to tuck the blankets around them, before carrying on down the hall to her bedroom.

L&O: SVU

As Olivia lay in bed Henry falling back to sleep in her arms she thought about how much her life had changed. Not so long ago she had been totally alone in the world. She had an empty apartment, a job that was slowly destroying her and a partner and friend that she kept pushing further and further away from her. She refused to let anyone close, afraid that if she did she would get hurt, or worse, hurt them. She didn't want to drag anyone else into the cesspool of darkness that was her life. Now five and a half years later she was living in the light again. She wasn't constantly at work anymore .She had a daughter and a son at home that she loved more than the world itself. She had a best friend who knew the ins and outs of her job, who laughed with her, cried with her and got drunk with her after particularly disturbing cases. And she had Elliot. Elliot, her other best friend, and her partner who over the last few years she had strengthened her friendship with. Elliot, who she now found herself falling deeper and deeper in love with. Now her life was full. And it was all thanks to one cute little 3 year old on a child abuse case that would otherwise have been the last straw for her. Her last thought as she drifted back to sleep was that now she had a family, the best family in the world in her opinion. Now she was happy.

L&O: SVU

The End!!!

The restaurant conversation was almost an exact transcript of a conversation I recently had with an eight year old child I was babysitting. It was a very awkward and, in hindsight, a pretty funny situation. The bit about the bird was inspired by a parrot I saw in a pet shop. It actually squawked 'Butt crack' whenever someone walked past it! Being me (me having the maturity level of an eight year old) I found it absolutely hilarious and had a weird desire to include it…

Well, after nearly two years I have finally finished this story. To those who are still with it: thanks for staying with it, thanks for bearing with me and my terrible updating patterns and I hope you enjoyed the ending. Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed you are all awesome.

Now to finish my other stories and begin new ones…

Sarah


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